Thumb-sucking is a frequently encountered habit adopted by children typically from the time the child is weened from the bottle until the age of five or six. However, in some instances the habit can extend into the later years of child development.
Thumb-sucking is an undesirable activity for children, not only because of the psychological affect commonly associated therewith, but also from a physiological standpoint. Thumb-sucking is often a causal or contributing factor to the development of malocclusion in children. The frequent presence of the thumb in a child's mouth, particularly while sleeping, exerts an outward force on the upper teeth and an inward force on the lower teeth, thus producing an overbite condition. Such a condition not only effects the normal chewing function of the teeth but often induces malformation of the surrounding facial features.
Breaking the thumb-sucking habit has long been recognized as a necessity to the normal physical and psychological development of a child. However, accomplishing the same is sometimes a difficult and ofter a frustrating experience. Various chemical and mechanical devices have been developed in an effort to aid in breaking or preventing the thumb-sucking habit. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,225,896; 2,617,413; 1,929,318; 2,767,709; 2,972,348; 2,498,122; 2,633,126; 1,990,384; 2,357,413; 2,783,759; 2,742,898; 3,334,625 and 3,442,267 (all incorporated herein by reference) disclose various thumb-sucking preventive or discouragement devices.
Although it has been previously recognized that one method of discouraging thumb-sucking is to prevent the child from achieving a partial vacuum in its mouth while sucking on its thumb, none of the prior devices has been entirely successful. Some prior devices using this principal include a guard which fits over the thumb and includes a plurality of holes and/or ribs to form air channels therein. However, some of these devices are bulky, cumbersome and tend to restrict the free movement of the thumb. In others, it would be possible for the child to put the entire device in its mouth, thereby avoiding the air channels.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved device to discourage thumb-sucking.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device to discourage thumb-sucking which device presents the drawing of a partial vacuum when sucked.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a device to discourage thumb-sucking which device does not substantially limit movement of the thumb or hand when worn.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a device to discourage thumb-sucking which device is relatively comfortable to wear.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a review of the following detailed description of the disclosed embodiment and the appended drawing and claims.